Similar to carpets and floors of homes, offices, and other structures, the interior cabin of many motor vehicles is subject to contamination by dirt and debris, which affect the aesthetic quality of the cabin of the vehicle. Conventionally, owners of these vehicles have used brushes and external vacuums to clean the dirt, leaves, and other debris out of the vehicle cabins in order to clean the floor.
Unfortunately, brushes often fail to get all of the small debris, such as sand, from a vehicle cabin, and require a dust pan to sweep the debris out of the vehicle. This process is often tedious, time consuming, and ineffective. External vacuums also present problems. Most vacuums require external power, often requiring to be plugged into AC power to function, which can present a challenge of finding a power plug near the parked vehicle. Additionally, external vacuums are often large and designed for use indoors. As such, they do not easily fit into small areas of a vehicle cabin. Use of such external vacuums systems brought into the cab effectively blocks the user's ability to move within the cramped quarters of the cabin. Battery powered vacuums presently exist on the market, but often lack the power required to effectively clean all areas of the cabin.
Some modern vehicles are equipped with an internal vacuum system to address these issues. The internal vacuum system is known to be disposed in the rear of mini-vans and sport utility vehicles to facilitate cleaning of the cabin of the vehicle by the user/owner. In such cases, the internal vacuum system is always powered by DC power from the battery system of the vehicle. Extended use of such battery-powered vacuum systems can drain the battery of the vehicle, perhaps even to the point where it does not have enough power to start the engine of the vehicle.
Presently, truck drivers are known to use standard shop hoses, connected to the pressurized air of the truck, in order to directly blow dirt out of the cabin of the truck, as the drivers presently have no other in-vehicle options available. Unfortunately, the use of the pressurized system in this capacity adds pollutants to the breathable air of the cabin, and is not an advised practice.
Thus, there is a need for an air-powered vacuum system to be integrated into vehicle cabins, especially the cabins of large trucks, buses, and recreational vehicles, to facilitate the safe and effective cleaning of the cabin of dirt and debris with suction sustained by a venturi provided via the existing air system of the vehicle. Such a device preferably mounts flush with the floor of the cabin, and internally houses a vacuum hose to be extended out of the floor to clean the cabin. Additionally, such a device preferably capitalizes on the existing air system of the vehicle to power the vacuum, such as that found on semi-trucks and similarly large vehicles, rather than drain the battery system of the vehicle. Therefore, with such a system, there is no need for electricity, extension cords or storage areas for the storing of a conventional standalone vacuum system.
Numerous innovations showing a method and device for an air vacuum system are shown in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present invention. A search of the known prior art includes multiple patents that address the above stated elements and have relevance to inventions similar to that of the present invention, however no patents were found that have all the desired elements and structure.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,139, patented by Beck and published on Oct. 3, 1995, is for a ‘Vacuum cleaner for vehicles’ which is similar to that of the present invention. However, the invention taught by Beck fails to teach the seamless and flush integration of the vacuum hose into the floor of the cabin of the vehicle, and is not shown to be stowed out of sight when not in use. While Beck does teach the use of a venturi to generate the suction of the vacuum, the invention lacks integration of the components of the vacuum into the floor, as well as describing the logistics of the suction. Additionally, activation of the system is not seamless, unlike the present invention, which is configured to activate automatically upon demand for use shown by the withdrawal of the vacuum hose from the cover plate. Likewise, Beck does not teach the use of the existing pressurized air system, known for use of the on-board air brakes of heavy vehicles, in order to power the vacuum. As such, the present invention is superior to that of the device taught by Beck.